In dreams
by thisoldlady
Summary: Daryl dreams. And acts. Season 1.


**I DON'T OWN THEM!**

Daryl is used to it.

He's used to follow his brother Merle. Wherever Merle goes, he will follow.

From one nameless town to another. From one meaningless job to another. From one random fuck to another.

He's used to it.

But that doesn't mean, he likes it.

Truth to be told, he hates it.

He would never admit it to anyone, especially not Merle, but he wants a home. A wife and children. A house and a dog. Everything, he never had in his life.

It is sad that he can't have stuff like that, a good woman would never hook up with a useless Dixon. But it's much sadder that he can't even dream of such a life. Only in daydreams. All his life, his dreams are nightmares. Monsters, vampires. His dreams are full of blood and gore. The dead rising from their graves. Fuckin' zombies all around them. His life a struggle for surviving. Hunger. Cold. Desperation. Fear.

He's used to it.

One day, his dreams change. Becoming even more vivid. He sees a chained door. 'Don't open. Dead inside' is written on it. There are other people. An asian guy with a cap and a smart mouth. A man on a horse on an empty street. The same horse devoured by geeks. Atlanta burning. He dreams of himself, throwing dead squirrels on a sheriff. And of Merle, handcuffed to a pipe on a rooftop. He dreams of a sassy blonde and a pregnant brunette. In his dreams, he sees a blonde teenager on a farm, and her father and sister. The father looses his leg and Merle looses his hand and later his life. There is a prison in his dreams, destroyed by a tank.

And he dreams of her.

Her beautiful smile.

Her soft voice.

The silver hair and her slender form.

She looks like a pixie.

He loves it, when she appears in his dreams.

Even when those are nightmares, too.

Her husband is bitten. And she puts a pickaxe in his head, to make sure, he won't come back. Her daughter disappears and dies, all alone in the woods. She almost dies, when a farm gets lost. She almost dies at the prison. Alone in the dark. She shoots a girl on a field full of flowers. She nearly breaks.

And he wants to hold her.

He wants to keep her safe.

She's so fragile in his dreams.

So delicate.

So weak.

So beautiful.

He wants to protect her.

He falls hard...for a dream, a fantasy.

Face forward and without hesitation.

But...that isn't him.

Never before he felt this urge to protect.

That asshole husband of hers can't protect her, Daryl knows that. He even suspects, he would shove his wife and daughter in front of walkers, just to safe himself. Sacrifice them for his own good.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Than the deads start to rise.

And he follows Merle lead. As usual.

Merle wants to rob this camp.

Get guns and ammo. Something to eat.

Daryl almost falls on his ass, when he recognizes the asian guy.

And the blonde and the brunette, he knows them.

He knows them all.

His eyes search for her.

Can it be? Can she be here?

A loud rustle in the woods startles him, but he smiles, when he sees her. His beautiful pixie. Her asshole husband yells at her. Merle says something, but he doesn't hear. He only has eyes for her.

He stands in the middle of that camp, surrounded by (well-known) strangers.

Her eyes are locked with his. Blue on blue.

She smiles at him.

And the smile goes straight into his heart, into his soul, into his groin.

He takes a step in her direction.

Her smile grows even wider.

Her asshole husband starts yelling at her again, but she doesn't care.

Merle stands still. Stunned. He has never seen his baby brother act like this.

Daryl approaches step by step. She comes to meet him.

They face each other.

Close.

She raises her hand, her fingers stroking his cheek, light as a feather.

He closes his eyes, to savour the touch.

He doesn't flinch.

Merle doesn't believe his eyes.

"You and your daughter stay with us from now on", Daryl says.

"Pardon?" she asks.

"You heard well. You stay with Merle and me. Your sorry excuse for a husband can't protect you. We can. We'll take care of you. We'll teach you to survive. We'll never hurt you. I promise."

"Why? Why would you do that for us?"

He sighs. How could he explain?

"Yes, Daryl, tell us", Merle has a shit eating grin on his face.

What should he say? I fell in love with you because of dreams? That would be too stupid.

He decides to show her. He bends down and captures her lips with his.

It's supposed to be a quick, chaste kiss and he expects, to be shoved away.

He expects, to get slapped.

He never expects her to kiss him back. Slow and sensual. In the middle of the camp. With Ed next to them.

Ed...furious Ed. Merle holds him back. "Looks like you just got a divorce", he laughs and shoves Ed away. "You are out of this picture!"

Carol breaks the kiss, panting, with wide eyes and kiss swollen lips.

"Oh", she says.

"Yeah", he replies.

"Yeah, me too", she smiles at him.

 **A/N I'm sorry for that, it makes no sense at all and it's ooc, but I needed this, I needed a big ball of fluff.**


End file.
